


Reunited, Forevermore

by shirophantomvox



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Aliens, Anxiety, Earth, Earth AU, F/M, Flashbacks, Galaxy Garrison, Insomnia, M/M, Massachusetts, Mentioned Voltron: Legendary Defender Team, Michigan, Mild Language, Nebraska, New York, Nightmares, Original Character(s), Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Team Bonding, Team Voltron Family, space
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-26
Packaged: 2021-03-27 11:48:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30122310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shirophantomvox/pseuds/shirophantomvox
Summary: The Paladins have finally returned home to Earth but not to the Earth they remember. The State of Nebraska has been completely destroyed by Sendak by the time they’ve returned home. They soon realize that they still aren’t able to reunite with their families because the military has kept the remaining citizens on the East Coast with no communication to prevent unseen attacks. Because of this, the team decides to settle in a nearby large home for rent, help Allura and Coran adjust to Earth and the American lifestyle. The paladins’  jovial spirit comes to a halt once they realize that the local police station has found out that there are actual aliens on Earth. They panic because they fear Coran and Allura being taken away but to their surprise, it is much worse. It is Lotor. Oddly, Lotor recruits the remaining humans and lead them on a mission to once and for all destroy the paladins, Coran, and Allura. Will he succeed or will Allura outsmart him? Will the humans be on board to destroying one of their own? Read to find out!
Relationships: Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Allura/Lance (Voltron), Hunk/Pidge | Katie Holt
Kudos: 7





	1. Preface

**Author's Note:**

> Hello Everyone! THIS PREFACE IS STILL BEING EDITED. I WANTED TO TEST THIS OUT FOR THE FIRST TIME. JUST AN FYI. Thank you for taking the time out to read my fanfiction! I am trying to pursue a career in screenplay writing so what's a better way to practice than by writing fanfiction? Since I am still in school, I will edit this story as much as possible to keep you all engaged! You can follow my Tumblr: shirophantomvox.tumblr.com or my Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/shirophantomvox to stay up today! I look forward to your feedback!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Everyone! THE PREFACE IS COMPLETED AND CHAPTER 1 (THE FARM) HAS BEEN POSTED. Thank you for taking the time out to read my fan fiction! I am trying to pursue a career in screenplay writing so what's a better way to practice than by writing fan fiction? Since I am still in school, I will edit this story as much as possible to keep you all engaged! You can follow my Tumblr: [ShiroPhantomVox Tumblr ](https://shirophantomvox.tumblr.com/) or my Twitter: [ShiroPhantomVox Twitter ](https://www.twitter.com/shirophantomvox/) to stay up today! I look forward to your feedback!

Vocabulary mentioned in this chapter:

 ** Flooding ** **:  
1\. overflow of water.  
2\. Pants that are too short.**

* * *

_Earth. Home. God, they were finally home!_

The bright sky and the cotton candy clouds reflected off the Voltron Lions once they landed. The ground rumbled ferociously, nearly tearing apart the Earth’s core but never fear, Mother Earth is a strong one indeed. The dust formed a mini funnel cloud, carelessly swirling off the ground and dissolved in the sky. The paladins chose a perfect day to land, one like a beach day. The mouths of the lions opened wide, and the stairs descended allowing them to leave their lions quickly but carefully. Their excitement almost made them trip and fall out of the lions and land smack dead on the ground and even if that did happen, they wouldn’t have cared at all. They were glad to be home.

No more Zarkon.

No more Honerva.

No more Lotor.

Just life back to the way they remembered it.

The warm, cool air brushed against their faces, whispering in their ears, and gently welcoming them back home. The team did not land in Nebraska as it had been destroyed by the Galra but luckily the Galaxy Garrison and other rebel fighters were able to defeat Sendak and Honerva on their own and somehow managed to evacuate the people. Instead, the team had landed in the great state of Michigan; a state that is known for its source of clean water, the origin of Motown, and is often referred to as the “Motor City”. None of them had traveled to Michigan except for Keith.

Shortly after their sweet, sweet reunion with the ground of the earth, they all gave each other looks of confusion as they did not know where they’d sleep, eat, and bathe for the rest of their lives. Their homes had been destroyed by the Galra and their families had been moved to the east coast like everyone else. According to the President, that was the best course of action. On the East Coast, all branches of the military and the Galaxy Garrison built shelters from material that could withstand a couple of blasts from the UFOs. They also improved their weapons by sampling some material from the fallen Galra soldiers’ guns and shields. God forbid but, if they decided to attack again, they’ll be more than ready to return fire.

The team had landed in the city of “Dashing Farms”, a city where everyone ties their sweaters around their necks, wears those “flooding” khaki pants, and wears plain tennis shoes. Believe it or not, they’d seen commercials of this city that promoted vacations and honeymoons but now that they were finally here, they realized that those commercials were overly hyped. The only nice thing this city had going for them was the beach and that was it. The people were snooty; they snickered whenever someone “lesser than” walked past. Nevertheless, the young people of this town were attempting to turn it around.

“Oh, Man! I am so happy to be back on Earth, Hunk yelled hugging and kissing a nearby tree. Ow! Ok, that tree had thorns.”

“Me too. I never thought I’d make it back here…alive. To think we have been to hell and back, literally.”

Shiro seemed to still be in denial about the journey back but what do you expect? He had been tortured by the Galra several times, died, and was revived by an alien.

“Where’s Allura and Coran?”

All 5 of them began to search for the two knowing that they might get themselves into trouble without knowing. Allura and Coran were curious souls; they didn’t hesitate to try something new and they sure as heck weren’t shy to ask questions regardless of boundaries.

“Allura! Coran! Where are you?”

Keith ran in between the lions searching for them. As expected, they were on the ground picking up the dirt almost seeming like they were children playing with it. To them, this was like finding gold! On Altea, the dirt was like gasoline. If you picked it up and let it sit in your hands for too long, the gas would form and begin to drip from your hands. This gas burned like hell.

“We’re right here! This…what is this again?”

“What is what,” Keith said frowning.

“This! —Coran grabbed more dirt in his hand and pointed to it—What do you all call this?”

“It’s dirt, Coran. It’ll stain your hands if you keep playing with it.”

“It’s ok. This seems so calming…playing with this dirt.”

“We know. Lots of kids played in the dirt because we thought we’d find gold." Pidge adjusted her glasses and scratched the back of her head as she took off her sweatshirt. "I remember seeing on the news that a guy in Texas found two gold coins, cashed them in, and received nearly a million dollars from it!”

“Oh, I remember him! Bayou Barry?”

“Yes, it was Bayou Barry.”

Everyone rambled about many memories that they encountered in the past from school to sporting events to singing in the rain on Altea. Everyone that is except for Shiro. He was happy to be on Earth; he could finally reunite with his fiancée, but something was preventing him from celebrating and he couldn’t figure out why. He knew that the biggest threats in the known universe had been defeated but there was this lingering thought that someone from the empire could resurface the Earth again and he didn’t want that. He tried his best to push out the lingering flashbacks of being in a small prison cell and used for entertainment by Zarkon’s cruel staff but, here again, they would go away and reappear at the worse time. At this point, it was hard for him to celebrate when his life could be permanently damaged in a milli-second. Shiro stared blankly at the team; nothing but irrational fears filled his brain.

_“Shiro—"_

Shiro continued to stare and didn’t acknowledge the person who was calling him.

_“SHIRO—”_

His vision began to blur as he looked up to the sky. The baby birds looked like tiny moving dots cheerfully tweeting away.

“SHIRO!”

Keith gently slapped his back, awakening him from his daydream. Shiro coughed twice and spit on the ground. He looked disorientated like he had just come back from the bar.

“Are you ok, Shiro? You phased out a bit there.”

Keith always felt like it was his responsibility to care for Shiro, you know, to repay him for how he took him when he was a young child. Shiro saved him from what could have been a horrible life had he began to hang around the wrong crowd.

“I-I’m fine Keith, thanks. Just glad to be home.”

“When are you going to link up with Adam?”

“Good question. I don’t know where to start.”

“Well, first of all, we need to find a place to stay that can fit 7 people, the mice, and storage to keep the lions.”

“No place in the country can store the lions.”

“Oh! Yes, there is!" Hunk quickly opened his phone and showed the team of a nearby farm that could house the lions until they needed them again…. which is never right? Hopefully. The owner of the farm was Hunk’s elementary music teacher, Mr. Gaines. The farm wasn’t too far from them, but they’ll have to wait until later in the week to fly them there. They need to recharge and can only do so without any movement. "I think we have to leave the lions here and come back for them once they’ve recharged.”

“Good call, Hunk. I know of someone that has an Air DND. Would you all be interested in that?”

Quickly knocking the dirt from their hands, Coran and Allura’s clothing became dirty. Since they both wore light colors, it is easy to stain.

“What is an Air-D-N-D? " Coran scratched his rather large orange mustache as he began to touch leaves and bark on the trees. "How could you live on air? It's not there.”

“No, Coran,” Lance said chuckling. “An Air DND is a house that the owner rents out to people for vacation, honeymoons, or for parties. The only catch is you must order your own food, you can’t steal anything, and you must obey their rules.”

“Wow, stealing is a deal-breaker for you,” Keith asked suspiciously looking at Lance.

“No! I don’t steal!”

“I don’t know. Iverson said his blender went missing after you visited his office.”

“He’s a liar! His ex-wife did that! Remember Sharla?!”

“Oh, the one that wouldn’t shut up? How could we forget,” Pidge said frowning in irritation.

“I liked her! She was funny!”

“Everyone likes you, Hunk. You’re more of a lady-killer than I am! How?”

“No woman can resist my cute face. Am I right Allura?”

“Definitely, Hunk,” Allura agreed. 

“And he listens to women. All you do is flirt, Lance.”

“While everyone is shitting on my name, do you all want to go to the Air DND or what?”

“Sure. Let’s get moving. I’m ready to actually get some sleep sometime soon.”

“Lance, exactly how far is this AIR DND from here?”

“About 30 minutes. Why?”

“Ugh! Seriously?”

“We just landed home from a space trip that took how long and now we have to walk 30 minutes?!” Pidge stood up, dusted off her Khaki Capri's, and folded her arms. When she is tired, she pouts a lot, but they all did. 

“You all are the paladins of Voltron. Walking 30 minutes won’t harm you at all. But you all do seem smaller than you did in space.” Allura scratched her snow-white hair in confusion, and she scanned the boys and—girl—trying to figure out how that was possible.

“That’s because of gravity. In space, there is no gravity, so our spines are stretched out for about an inch. Once we landed, our spines are no longer stretched, and we look different than before. Does that make sense?”

“Sure.” 

_No, it didn’t._

“Come on! Let’s get going before the sun comes out. Once we get settled, we need to get Allura and Coran new clothes, or else they’ll stick out like a sore thumb.”

“That sounds painful!" Coran frowned in terror, nearly turned blue. He never wanted to take off his Altean garments, but Keith was right. If they didn’t want to attract unnecessary attention to themselves, they’d have to go along with everyone else. "Why do we need to change our clothes? What we have on is fine!”

“During the summer, it gets humid here. VERY humid and hot. Take my word. I can already feel the heat now. I just want to make it to the Air DND before I burst into flames.”

“Lead the way, Lance.”

“Follow me, everybody!”

And with that, they were on their way. Can you believe it? They were finally safe and sound on their home planet. They had the rest of eternity to hang out at the beach or go bowling but right now? They wanted to rest. As soon as their pretty little heads hit the pillow, it will be lights out. Could you blame them? They fought aliens—in which—they were always told that aliens didn’t exist. They not only did their duty for their country but for the entire universe at only 21 years old. 


	2. The Farm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Paladins, Allura, and Coran have made it to Mr. Gaines' farm. They interact with animals while nearly melting away under the hot sun. A few of the Paladins reveal some interesting feelings while being under the sun's spell. It is only a matter of time before Mr. Gaines saves them from the sun. Will he keep the Paladin's secret and store the lions?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's up y'all? It took me about a week to write this chapter. I don't want each chapter to be long but I do want you all to invest time in reading it. I am sorry if there are any grammar errors; I've re-read this passage several times. If you have any feedback, please let me know. You can follow my Tumblr and Twitter for frequent updates : [ShiroPhantomVox Tumblr ](https://shirophantomvox.tumblr.com/) and [ShiroPhantomVox Twitter ](https://www.twitter.com/shirophantomvox/)  
> PS: Technically this is chapter 1, not 2.

Barbecue smoke filled the air of the blue sky. The smell of freshly cut grass evened itself out with the smell of a nearby cherry blossom tree. Banjo music could be heard ever so softly in the distance as the team approached the house of none other than Mr. Gaines and his 2nd wife. As they slowly approached the farmer’s house, the team came across a stable of cows and horses. . The cows stared blankly at the humans, all in awe. Instead of the cows running away in fear, they ran towards them and mooed in a friendly manner. Hunk and Lance reached out to pet the cows but for some reason, the cows jerked their heads away from their hands. Cows are curious animals; they’re always open to adventures but they also keep their distance, although the bull (male cow), ran and met Lance head-on aiming his nose at his forehead. The bull released air hard enough to knock him off his feet but managed to stay grounded. 

Allura gently patted a few calves on the head laughing at their moos of pleasure. All civil animals were the same; they adored being petted by humans because not only did it feel heavenly but it created a bond that would easily allow them to recognize the team if they were ever to return. 

“Egad! Kaltenceker looks just like them! Could it be?” Coran began to rub the calves face, gently stroking it behind its ears, and even sniffed its ears as well. 

“Yes! This must be the cows that you all have been referring to all this time!”

Allura’s face lit in excitement and fascination. The animals gently licked her fingers, their large tongue felt oddly satisfying but left thick drool on them. Maybe they’d adapt to Earth life in no time! 

Pidge walked over to a newborn calf and took a towel on the ground and began to wipe it off. She groaned in disgust but continued to do so because this was the nature of life. 

Hunk and Keith talked about the difference in patterns of the cow’s fur and noticed how they looked oddly muscular than the ones they have seen on TV. 

It seemed as if they all were in this jubilant, loving bubble until it simultaneously burst and they all were reverted to reality. The cows froze; they didn’t move a muscle. The cow’s sudden stall made the paladins freeze in their tracks. The sudden noise of packs of rambunctious canines quickly grew louder. The team quickly turned around and before they knew it, 3 light grey Pitbulls and 2 black and brown Plott Hounds came galloping towards them. The dogs came to a jerked halt, almost slipping in the moist dirt under the grass. They barked ferociously at them and stopped shortly after they approached them. Curiously, they slowly stepped closer to them and began to sniff and investigate the intruders that were on their land. The Plott Hounds sniffed the quickest, as they have the best sense of smell compared to other canines. Once they were finished, they moved to their original spots and sat down. The Pitbulls took the longest when sniffing Allura and Coran, which is expected. Instead of aiming their heads towards the Alteans to pet them, they began to bark at them rather angrily and tried to snip at them. One Pitbull began to sniff the others but raised its head to Pidge’s hand indicating that it wanted to be petted. Lance shooed the Pitbull away, risking one of his fingers being bitten off but that didn’t matter to him. All that matters is the princess being safe in his care. 

“Why are they so angry at us? The cows loved us!” Allura frowned. Dare, she tried to lunge out at the Pitbull. It backed-up and then lunged at her more. 

“These animals are different. They are more aggressive than the cows. Hunk, have you contacted Mr. Gaines yet?” 

The sun was out more than it had been before. Pidge’s red hair began to stick together and droop in her face. The little strands of hair began to fall out onto her glasses as the natural oil began to drip down her face. Thank God she doesn’t wear makeup or this would have been a complete disaster! The oil from her hair smeared her glasses. She sat down on the grass, in front of the dogs, and didn’t flinch when the Pitbull shifted back and forth to barking at both Allura and Pidge. 

“I’ve been trying to since we got here but the phone signal isn’t picking up.” 

Hunk raised his phone closer to the sky hoping for 1 bar on his cellphone. It was no use, his current cell provider was terrible and to think they are overcharging him? For what? Terrible phone service? Not achieving any success, Hunk noticed he couldn’t listen to his voicemails or use the internet. 

_Oh, shoot._

Ever since they were shot into space, his mother no longer paid his bill. 

He had been cut off. 

“Uh...guys?” 

“What?”

“My phone is cut off. I can’t make any calls in or out. How about you all?”

They all pulled out their cellphones and attempted to make a phone call but they all heard the same thing—a busy dial tone. Their providers had cut all their phones off. That was odd. Hunk was able to use Maps to search for the farm moments ago. 

“We’re going to have to walk to the house and hope and pray that they are there.”

“Can’t I just stay here with the dogs? I’m too hot to take another step!” Pidge began to fan herself dreading and thinking about the ice-cold water bottle that was left inside of the green lion.

“If I can walk to the house, so can you, Pidge.” 

“You know I don’t like to agree with Keith, but he is right Pidge. It’s only fair.” 

“Ugh! Fine. I just need to get to a shelter before my skin burns off!” 

It had to be at least 98 degrees. You could see heat rays just above their heads. They’d hope it would start to rain but unfortunately, there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky. 

The sound of the team’s groans and moans soon became unbearable. If they kept listening to each other do so, they would have collapsed in the sun waiting for help. Another unfortunate effect of heat is hallucinations. Boy, they’d all LOVE to fall into a nice, ice-cold pool of water and just lay there. No need for margaritas, juice, or anything! Just water. Just water and that was all. 

“Man, I don’t remember it being this hot when I visited here. I can see the heat rays above the roof! After here, we are going to Breyard’s to get—some—water—” Keith slowly licked his lips to moisten them and create some liquid of his own. He cursed himself when he realized that his water bottle had dropped a long way back on the trail. There was no point in turning back now. “—Breyard’s...Oh, shoot! There isn’t one for miles!” 

Coran and Allura were sweating bullets but they were much quieter about their feelings. Coran continuously wiped his forehead with a white rag, while Allura simply tied her track jacket around her waist. The young woman walked the field effortlessly remembering countless opportunities where she had to exert more energy than she is using now. Her father, King Alfor, trained her at a young age to jog every day in the morning for 1 Varga and either lift heavy objects or work on upper body strength at night. She was his only daughter and she needed to learn how to defend herself while remaining as healthy as possible. When the young princess—at the time—didn’t want to partake in such activities and wanted to play amongst the other children, Melonor often encouraged her to keep pushing and to break barriers that an average Altean could not. 

Her sleeveless shirt was a purplish-grey color that fitted tightly around her sharpened waist. Yes, she had the wisdom of a 10,000-year-old woman but the body of a 25-year-old. The sun made her brown skin appear to be reflective as if she had a ton of sunscreen on. 

No, it was sweat. 

This is why she pushed the paladins hard when it came to training and exercising. Not only was it good for their health and nearly guaranteed a long life, but it also contributed to brain chemistry and movement. The princess was able to maintain the secret of multiple connections to Altean “junk food”; something that would remind them of Wendy’s or McDonald’s. The goo was horrible, yet they had gotten used to it and no matter how much you ate, you didn’t gain any carbs. 

Lance yawned loudly and stretched his arms. His eyes lit with excitement as an “oh so” brilliant idea popped into his head. 

“Ol’ McDonald had a farm—” He yelled at the top of his lungs while jumping up, down, and goofing around. This was his way of dealing with a stressful situation. The boy loved singing nursery rhymes even as an adult. They always brought him some source of joy. “—Join in everybody!” 

“Don’t start that.” Keith instantly grumbled something else and tied his red track jacket around his slightly muscular waist. “Leave it to the professionals.” 

“Ee, I Ee I OH!”

“And on that farm, he had some chicks.” Lance gestured for everyone to respond to him. Moving his hand quickly in the motion of “follow me” Pidge decided to sing the next part. She no longer frowned and her hair was neatly pushed back behind her ears. 

“Ee, I Ee I OH!” She began to jump along with Lance and swung her arms around to create air in between them. 

“Here a cluck, there a cluck, everywhere a cluck-cluck.”

Shiro cleared his throat rather harshly and then placed his right hand on his stomach. He looked as if he was about to sing at the opera theater for the queen. 

“Ol’ McDonald had a farm—” The rest of the team including Keith took in a deep breath and released a loud, booming harsh sound of notes. 

“Ee, I Ee I OH!” 

That’s all they needed! A song! A jubilant song was all they needed to lift their spirits and forget about the harshness of the sun. Believe it or not, the sun’s rays seemed to become cooler the closer they got to Mr. Gaines’ home. The Pitbulls, Plott Hounds, and cows followed the humans rather quietly. They only knew the animals had been following them because another calf made a high-pitched sound that caused the team to jump nearly out of their skin. 

“What the?!”

“What the cheese?”

Shiro chuckled to himself. The songs and near-death made him forget about his nightmares for now. At least that’s a start. He walked up to the calf, squatted, and began to slowly pet its head. The calf mooed in adoring pleasure. It raised its nose to Shiro and began to lick his nose. No one had ever seen Shiro be so soft and once they did, it made them laugh instead of saying “aww”. He has been to hell and back more than the average citizen; would you be able to survive an alien attack? 

Didn’t think so. 

Coran walked closer to the cows but couldn’t get any closer than a foot because the dogs began to bark at him again.

“Oh, hush up! I’m no different than them!” He strained his arms and balled his fists, imaging a spoiled toddler, and squinted his eyes hard at the dogs. They glared back at him daring him to lunge at him like how Allura did earlier. 

“Actually, Coran, you kind of are.”

He glared at Lance giving him the stern look of a parent. 

“Don’t take it personally Coran. Dogs do this to other humans as well. Hunk had a dog, BeBe. When other dogs smell “dog” on your clothes, they calm down for some reason. 

* * *

The sun was still hot as ever but at this point, the team was already used to it. Their clothes were drenched in sweat, creating wet sweat spots underneath their arms, leaving deodorant stains on their perfectly bright colored shirts. Again, Allura walked towards the small house as if she were on a quest to find gold. She took large steps, swinging her arms back and forth, and humming to herself quietly. It is true; whistling while you work (or exercise) does make time fly by.

_Shade! Finally!_

The patio’s roof extended some feet onto the yard casting a black shadow of relief. Although the shadow was there, it was small; not everyone would be able to fit underneath it.

“Look, everyone! Shade!” Lance began to sprint toward the shaded area followed by Pidge and Hunk but as soon as they reached it they began to shove each other, like young children. It is safe to say that the heat was driving them mad; next, they’ll fight to the death just for an ice-cold bottle of water.

“Move it, Hunk!” Lance attempted to roll him over into the sun.

“You move it, Lance!”

“Hey, I’m the lady here! Both of you; offer up your seat!”

Both blinked blankly. They had no idea of what she was speaking of and why she was saying it. After an exchange of a few seconds of silence, both Hunk and Lance erupted into laughter. It wasn’t expected for them to understand that anyway. They both were silly and slightly immature, still. Nevertheless, their politeness didn’t matter. All they wanted was to sit down for a second and reflect.

“Pidge, please! I got here first, so I’m staying here!”

“No, I got here first!”

Lance took off his light blue t-shirt and threw it to the ground furiously. His chest, arms, and torso rippled underneath the sunlight. He was so annoyed that he didn’t look for Allura’s reaction, although he knew she would be impressed. Hunk did the same and flexed both arms. Pidge gasped and pointed at a dark patch on his skin. Her face unexpectedly darkened at the sight of Hunk’s skin; something she had NEVER done before. She placed both of her hands over her mouth, trying to hide her blushing cheeks, but that was nearly impossible. This time, they both shoved harder and pushed the other out into the sun. Pidge began to laugh at the two young men, covering her mouth and doubled over in amusement. Her laughter was warranted. Lance and Hunk barely got into arguments but once they did, it was amusing. They didn’t hate each other; no actual feelings of hatred were present. Instead, they just tousled until one was too tired to continue.

“Well, the sun is beating down, you already have your shirts off, all we need is mud.”

The friendly altercation came to a jolted halt. Lance, being on top of Hunk, stared at him and back to Pidge. He squinted his eyes in sudden embarrassment as he figured out what she was trying to imply. Usually, it’s the other way around. He quickly rolled off Hunk and jumped to his feet and stood talk like a scarecrow. His fists were balled tightly; so tightly that his knuckles began to turn red. Pidge laughed hard, doubled over more, and clapped to the sound of her heartbeat.

“That’s not funny, Pidge! This isn’t WWE!”

“That’s the wrong word, Lance. Don’t you mean mud fight,” she corrected him. A wide, mischievous grin appeared on her face, involuntarily prompting her to quickly cover it again. She was a quiet girl; indeed, but there was a part of her that no one knew about, not even the team. Her irritated, moody feeling had suddenly disappeared and her laughing, happy alternate ego, Katie, began to resurface.

Hunk’s eyes widened as he figured out what Pidge was trying to imply. He smiled shyly and closed his eyes. “Whoa! What have you done with Pidge?”

Hunk, the human teddy bear, felt something warm on his cheeks and spread to the bottoms of his ears. He flashed a nervous smile and released a sound through his throat, making him cough long and hard. He scratched the back of his head, trying to avoid eye contact with anyone but he truly was overthinking the situation. No one had a single idea of what he was thinking; nothing but assumptions. Or, they could have hit the nail on the nose. They made it obvious. His mustard yellow short-sleeved shirt was unstained from deodorant surprisingly, but he placed it back over his body. Finally, he opened his eyes and pointed to her glasses.

“Pidge—” He was still blushing, probably harder than before and definitely more noticeable – “What were you staring at?”

“Huh? Me? I wasn’t staring at anything!”

“You totally were. I saw it for myself.”

“Lance, you’re lying. If I was, what was I staring at?”

“Hunk’s toned arms. You were staring at his tattoos.”

“I was not!”

“You were, too! Just admit! Team Punk? That has a nice ring to it” —He ran over to his blushing teammates and placed one arm around each pulling them closer to him. He grinned and smiled, not a smile of sincerity but of amusement. “–Huh? _Huhhh?_ ”

“Ok, ok, that’s enough, Lance. We must see each other every day. There’s no need to humiliate each other.” Shiro smiled heartily, turned his head to Pidge, and raised his right eyebrow. She viewed him as the older brother she never had and she often vented to him how she felt about missing her brother Matt or how hard it was to find her father, Sam. Shiro knew everyone’s secrets, including Allura’s. He was given the nickname: “Diary” because everyone felt safe and secured when it came to talking about personal information.

Suddenly, banjo music could be heard more clearly than before. The freshly cut grass crumpled and crumbled and became louder when the banjo music did. The calming banjo strummed perfectly as if a metronome was playing along with it. A soft, country, angelic voice gently inflected their voice to create a slow rise in the volume of their singing.

_“Camp town ladies sing a song do-da, do-da._

_Camp town racetrack 5 miles long, oh the doo-dah day._

_Going to run all night, going to run all day._

_Bet my—”_

The man stopped in his tracks just in enough time before he slipped in the moist dirt beneath the surface. Still holding his banjo’s neck in his left hand and the body in his right, be sucked in the air once and exhaled hard. The brim on his yellow straw hat covered his eyes for shade. He had on a light blue relaxing fitted light blue shirt with dark blue lines running vertically. His pants were khaki colored but had dirt stains on them signaling that he had been planting for hours. All they could see was grey stubble on his chin, under his nose, and a thin piece of wheat coming from his mouth. This man was quite tall for his age and appeared to be strong. Well, one must be strong if he is picking up bags of dirt and planting for hours a day. The man slowly lifted his head and stared at the team with a blank expression. His eyes were no longer white; instead, they were bloodshot in the corners, but it didn’t look worse than the bags under his eyes. He must have been tired but how he managed to work in the hot sun was unimaginable. His pale skin had been slightly tanned from being under the hot sun for so long. 

“E-Excuse me s-sir but do you have any ice-cold lemonade.” Hunk wanted to take his shirt off again, but as he experienced the last time, he wanted to keep it on. Pidge’s flirting didn’t bother him at all, but he wanted to keep the flirting to a minimum when they were in front of the group. He was very shy and wanted to give her his full attention in private. 

“Oh, forget the lemonade! Have you seen Mr. Gaines? We were told that he lives here! This is, um, 65465 Gallop Lane, right?” Lance began to foam at the mouth; lips crusting, and skin looks ashy. 

The old man began to laugh, chuckling heartily, placing his hand over his stomach. The man coughed a lot in between each. He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out an unlit cigarette and plopped it in between his lips. He raised his hot red lighter to the end of the cigarette and lit it with a quickness.

“Who’s ah-askin’?”

Hunk coughed hard; trying to diffuse the large smoke bomb that had now entered his lungs. He slowly caught his breath, placed his arms on his legs prompting him up, and stuck his index finger in the air.

“I-It’s me. M-Mr. Gaines. Remember me, Hunk? I was your best drum player at the Garrison.”

The old man laughed again, this time not so hard and eerily. He lifted his head completely, smiling large with the cigarette in his mouth, threw the weed aside, and turned his head to meet Hunk’s tired glassy eyes. He stuck his hand out waiting for Hunk to respond.

“Of course, I remember you, Hunk Garrett! You were the greatest student ever but then you disappeared. We were scared not just for you but for us too.”

“T-trust me, we were scared too.”

“We?”

Hunk turned to the slide and extended his arm, showing Mr. Gains the rest of the gang.

“This is Keith, Pidge, Lance, and Shiro. I’m sure you remember Shiro. Everyone looks up to him; everyone wants to be him!”

“Of course! It’s an honor to meet you, Takashi Shirogane! My granddaughter wants to be a pilot just like you! Why are you just as handsome as she says!”

“Thank you. That’s flattering! I’m not that great,” Shiro said gently rubbing the back of his head. A faint blush appeared on his face as he smiled. It didn’t matter who complimented the sharp shape of his face or his perfectly edged-up hair, it boosted his confidence a million points.

Mr. Gaines pointed his index finger as straight and stiff as he could to Allura and Coran. They all froze not knowing what he was going to ask about them. It was obvious that they were different from the rest but no one could know that aliens were on Earth or else there would be a mass panic. His thin half disappeared grey eyebrows pressed against the lids of his eyes as he tried to visually examine the two. 

“Now, who is this beautiful young lady?” His country accident had a calm, sweet, soft twang, causing Allura to smile big; a blush painted upon her cheeks at such a lovely compliment. Her throat was a bit shaky but she managed to release an answer. Talking to strangers wasn’t hard for her but talking to human strangers made her nervous. The teen’s lifestyle was very different from hers and hearing about the mischievous activities they use to partake in made her nervous. 

“I am Princ—” Coran gave her a quick jab in the arm to remind her that she couldn’t use her actual title. When Americans hear the word “Princess” they immediately think of the royal families of different societies. They are supposed to be undercover until further notice. “—I’m Allura. Thank you for the compliment. I appreciate it.”

Mr. Gaines took off his straw hat, exposing his near-bald head, and placed the hat over his chest. He slowly walked to her extended hand. Taking the lit cigarette out of his mouth, he gently grabbed and raised her hand to his mouth. He placed two kisses on her smooth skin and lifted his head to meet her gaze. She chuckled; so did he. Coran shot the man a deadly gaze, one that King Alfor may have given him if he were here. 

“You’re quite welcome! How did you get mixed up with these kids?” He choked out another hearty laugh and put his diminishing cigarette back into his mouth. 

“Oh! How many phoe—years do you have?!” She laughed awkwardly. Getting used to American _and_ Earth life was going to be more than a challenge. 

“Not to interrupt this wonderful moment, but can we go inside? If you don’t mind. I’m about to burst into flames...literally.” 

“Sure! Follow me! We’ll finish this conversation inside.”

Both Lance and Hunk ran in between everyone nearly knocking them over just to get into the farmer’s house. The man took his cigarette out of his mouth, blew out thick white smoke, and laughed yet again. 

“You boys are gonna be disappointed when you see that there ain’t no air in there!” 

“Aw! You have to be kidding me,” Lance yelled from a distance. 

The farmer was right; there was no air but it sure beat the hell out of baking in the hot sun. 

  
  



End file.
